Remove ‘Miss/Mrs.’ from title choices for females

People have been fighting for women’s rights and equality for over a century now. We’ve come a long way, but we are not there yet. Women face challenges on the daily based on gender. One of the smaller things that irks a lot of us is when a form asks only a female to define her social status. What is the basis for asking whether she is single, married or divorced? Why is it that men aren’t asked the same question?

A lot of forms and applications require females to reveal their status as single/married/widowed by using Miss/Mrs/Ms. This practice is unnecessary and intrusive, not to mention unfair as the male counterpart gets only one non-intrusive, neutral choice i.e. Mr. In case the forms do want the know the marital status it should be in the form of a separate question which applies to both male and female applicants.

If the title option is reduced to just ‘Ms’ it will ensure that the identity of a female isn't linked to that of another person and that they are treated as independent individuals. Even if someone chooses to take up their husband’s last name after marriage the title should remain Ms.

It is a small but impactful change towards a balanced society.

I urge you to sign this petition on behalf of every woman who feels this practice breaches personal life and deems them less of an individual as a man. The petition and comments are delivered to the head of UN Women and the CM for Ministry of Women and Children Development of India.